Friends with Benefits
by Comedienne
Summary: Kid and Maka. One is emotionally unavailable, the other emotionally damaged. Romantic relationships have seldom worked out for either of them. Their friends, however, have blossoming relationships and the circle of friends had reduced to just the two of them. Common ground is found between them in their single, and sexually frustrated, status. A bargain is struck. Chaos follows...
1. Intro

Intro

Many years had passed since I had first entered my father's academy, since I had broadened my circle of friends. We had all changed. Some had opened up, others mellowed out, but we had all grown up (to an extent). Our various relationship dynamics had changed too, some more than others.

...

Soul stood by Tsubaki, his hand loosely clasping hers in a gesture of encouragement. She stuttered a great deal before she was able to say it: "Soul and I are dating". She looked to Soul. The question written plainly in her eyes: Did I do O.K? Soul nodded. Revealing their relationship to us was a daunting concept. Soul would always be proud of the quiet courage she displayed in accepting that undertaking, I could see that much in his expression.

Blackstar took a moment to salvage his unhinged jaw (his shock had rendered it so). Thankfully his joy was greater than his shock. His quiet partner and his best friend, he was ecstatic for them both. "FINALLY," he boomed. In the following moments, severe spinal damage was potentially inflicted in the form of an overzealous hug that enveloped Soul and Tsubaki both. Maka, I could see, felt the same joy, though she displayed it without the theatrics. I think we all smiled more than we had in some time.

...

Blackstar fled from his own home on a regular basis once Soul started coming over in a 'romantic capacity'. To my great distress, it was my home he chose to invade in those circumstances. I'd come home and he'd be there, eating all the food and messing up the place. Liz was barely ever home, she'd be out with her boyfriend-of-the-month, so I'd have to deal with Blackstar and Patti. It was like some twisted form of babysitting. I was at my wits end when _it_ happened.

...

I was late home on the day of Soul and Tsubaki's six month anniversary. I should have anticipated that Blackstar would be at my home in avoidance of the romantic evening Soul had undoubtedly planned, but I hadn't. So it was a complete shock to walk in on Blackstar and Patti having very loud sex on the dining room table. They were so caught up in each other's sweaty limbs that they didn't even notice my entrance or my very swift exit. Needless to say, that table was later replaced, though I never told Patti that I had burned the old one.

...

"Kid, what are you doing here?" Maka asked, surprised at my sudden appearance on her doorstep.

I didn't answer her, just walked through her home to collapse on her sofa. I slid my hands down my face as if the action would scrub away the images that had been branded onto my poor, abused eyes.

"Kid, are you okay?" Maka questioned, concerned. She lowered herself gently into the space beside me.

"Do you want the real answer or the pleasant answer?" I said, from behind my own pale hands.

"The real answer, of course. I'm your friend. You can answer me honestly. So tell me Kid, are you okay?"

"I'm fucking traumatised." I don't often curse, but I thought it appropriate to express how I felt at that moment. Maka squinted at me a little, though I could tell she didn't really mind. Soul swears like a sailor. She just wasn't used to hearing that sort of language from me.

"Kid, what happened?" She placed her hand gently upon my arm.

"They were there when I got home." I could still hear echoes in my head of the...moaning.

"Who?" she asked.

"Blackstar and Patti."

"Patti does live with you."

"They were defiling the dining room table." That poor table...

"I know you like to keep things tidy but I hardly think that damage to a table warrants being 'fucking traumatised'. You conquered your OCD years ago. You've been managing so well."

"Maka, they were having sex."

"Oh," she said in a small voice.

"Yeah," I offered awkwardly. "Can I...Can I crash here tonight?"

"Of course," Maka answered brightly. "I'm glad of the company actually. It's been so quiet since Blair moved out and with Soul being gone so often..."

"Thanks."

...

The following day Blackstar announced that he and Patti were now dating. I offered Patti the best smile I could muster. She seemed to accept my attempt at a pleased expression. Though I felt like hurling my guts out at the image of the two of them having...you know, I was actually very happy for Patti. She deserved someone who could keep up with her boundless energy. Who better than Blackstar?

...

From then on I took refuge from Blackstar and Patti's boisterous love making at Maka's apartment. She was always pleasant and seemed grateful of my presence. I suspect she was actually quite lonely. Her best friend and her partner were still too caught up in each other to pay much attention to anyone else. She was probably the only reason I wasn't lonely. We'd known each other for years, and I counted her as a friend, but I was starting to realise how little time I'd actually spent with her. I also realised I was in the same boat as her. Both my partners were consumed by their love lives and the few other friends I had were all in relationships too...except for Maka. She'd had a few boyfriends over the years, mostly jackasses, and had given up on the miniscule, infinitesimal, microscopic amount of faith she'd had in romance. I was loath to admit that I was glad of her perpetual singleness.


	2. Mr Straight-laced

Aielmi

In answer to your review (I would simply reply to your review but your PM is disabled) I put Soul and Tsubaki together in this story deliberately because I wanted to have the pairings be the unusual ones. This unusual coupling slots in nicely to the social dynamics I'll using in this story. When you examine the existing weapon-meister relationships there seems to be an 'opposites attract' kind of archetype. I think that what people don't already have appeals to them, so I've paired them with characters that are, not the same (that's boring), but more similar to themselves. I think Soul, with his relaxed vibe, would be good for Tsubaki, allowing her to blossom and have more room for her own personality. She is very compromising as a person. It would be easy for her to become smothered in a relationship. I also think that Soul is the only person Blackstar would be happy with as a romantic interest for Tsubaki. I don't condemn Tsubaki-Blackstar (in fact I like that pairing, it gives me warm fuzzies). I just think it would require a lot of character development to function in the long term (which is the ultimate goal for a couple ) and I'm too lazy for all that writing. I'm an indecisive shipper... I like pairings based on the characters that I like and Soul Eater has some great ones...like Kid and Maka (I love Soul-Maka, I have a SoMa concept brewing actually).

...

Maka's apartment...

"How long has it been since we last got together like this?" Liz asked. Tsubaki and the Thompson sisters had arrived rather suddenly at my apartment with a stack of DVDs.

"The last time we had a girl's night was before I got together with Soul," Tsubaki answered. "So that makes it...over nine months ago." She chose a movie randomly from the stack and passed it to Patti.

"Wow." Patti giggled. "That's such a long time." She put the disc into my DVD player.

...

Kid's house...

"It's good to finally have a night with just the guys. I cannot neglect to share my godliness with such small men. How else will Soul learn to better please Tsubaki than from my example?"

"Hey! I please Tsubaki just fine."

"Fine is not good enough. You must treat her with the reverence that My Goddess Patti receives."

I watched my old friends bicker as they always had, teasingly and over stupid things, like a married couple. Of course the bickering threatened to turn into a brawl and I had to question the wisdom of allowing these lunatics to enter my home.

...

Back at Maka's apartment...

Almost the same instant the movie started playing Liz started ignoring it.

"So Maka," Liz rounded on me. "You got yourself a boyfriend yet?"

"Shut up Liz," I spat back at her. She knew full well that I hadn't had a boyfriend in some time.

"You really should get back in the dating game Maka. You're so sweet. You deserve someone to make you happy," Tsubaki said kindly.

"Yeah, Tsubaki's right Maka. You need some long term _stress relief_," Liz offered suggestively, waggling her perfectly groomed eyebrows. "You always over think everything. Some hot, wild sex should fix that right up."

"Liz!" I blushed madly.

"Come on, you know I'm right. Okay, who here thinks Maka just needs to get her brains fucked out?"

Liz raised her manicured hand into the air. Patti giggled and threw her arm up. Even Tsubaki timidly raised her hand.

"Really? All of you?" I huffed. "You're all horrible."

...

Soul and Blackstar were looking at me. It was kind of weird.

"What?"

"Nothing, you just seem really uptight. Like, even more than usual." Soul answered.

"I'm not uptight."

"Yeah you are. It seems Mr Straight-laced needs to get laid." Blackstar slapped me on the back.

I choked on thin air.

"I do NOT."

"Yes you DO," Soul countered. "It's been, what, nearly a year since you last had a girlfriend and unless there have been some one night stands we haven't been hearing about you haven't been getting any in all that time."

I was silent for a few moments.

"I thoroughly despise you both."

...

"So how was the boy's night?" Maka asked me.

"Abhorrent. All they could talk about was my non-existent sex life."

"You're kidding, you too?"

"Kid might be my name but I tend to avoid using it as a verb." My foul mood had brought out my more sarcastic side...

"Those bastards, Soul and Blackstar are soooo getting Maka-Chops when I catch up with them." She curled her hands into fists.

"Wait, go back. You said 'you too'. Have those two been bugging you? Cause I'll gladly kick their asses."

"Oh no, it wasn't them, at the girl's night everyone was ganging up on me too."

"About what?"

"About how I think too much and that some 'hot, wild sex should fix that right up'. That's a direct quote from Liz."

"Eugh. That girl..." How could my weapon say something like that to Maka?

"And there was a unanimous agreement that I needed to have my 'brains fucked out'. Even Tsubaki agreed."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day that the girls were crasser than Blackstar...all he said was that 'Mr Straight-laced needs to get laid'."

"Mr Straight-laced huh?" A devious expression appeared on Maka's face.

"You're going to start calling me that aren't you?"

"As if I could pass it up, Mr Straight-laced."


	3. You?

I was alone in my absurd, empty house. Both of the Thompson's were out with their respective boyfriends. Liz had managed to spend not one month, but two with her non-descript lover and Patti had been with Blackstar for six, so they were both celebrating their prolonged relationships. Coincidentally, it was also Soul and Tsubaki's one year anniversary. I was hopelessly jealous. I hadn't had sex in over a year.

...

I couldn't believe Soul had kicked me out. He hadn't been so insensitive since before he and Tsubaki got together. If not for the fact that I would have ruined Tsu's romantic night I would have demanded to stay. I wasn't as inconsiderate as my partner so I left without complaint. I had only one place I could realistically go...right to Death's door.

...

I opened my doors and there she was just standing out in the cold.

"Hey there Mr Straight-laced."

"Hey. Nice of you to drop in." It _was_ nice of her to show up, but it'd come out of my mouth as a slightly sarcastic statement. I wasn't really in the mood for company. I ushered her inside.

"Am I intruding?"

"On what, me wallowing in self-pity?"

"What? Why?"

"Mr Straight-laced remember? Everyone's _shacking up_ but me."

"You do know you're preaching to the choir, right? I don't date...Men are jerks anyway."

"Right, sorry Maka. I didn't mean to...bring that up."

"You are so lucky that, strictly speaking, you're not human. Otherwise I probably couldn't stand you."

I laughed awkwardly along with her. Human or not, I was still a man. My mind followed that strange train of thought and it occurred to me that Maka was a woman. Not in the sense that I was just realising she was female. I'm not stupid. I just had my own prejudices about women from the showy, airheaded specimens I'd been exposed to. My connotations of women brought to mind manipulative and pushy creatures who could barely support the weight of their own chests (and who'd probably end up with more spinal problems than Soul in later life). Many of those types of women had tried to get my attention, to seduce me I should say, and gain access to 'family resources'. It was one of the reasons I'd been avoiding the dating game. I wanted intimacy, yes, but the moths drawn to this flame were gaudy and parasitic and I lacked the patience to form any connection with such false people. All they got from me were forged manners, counterfeit courtesy if you will.

Maka was nothing like those women. She was stubborn, smart and genuine. I treasured her candid way of speaking with me. If I was being a jerk, she'd tell me. Not everybody can look Death in the face, tell him he needs to 'get his act together', subdue him with only a book and kick his ass while wearing a short skirt...(I've a fondness for her dress sense now? Really? How uncharacteristically perverted? I should ask Liz to shoot me).

...

A shadow of discomfort passed across his features before being quickly masked. Perhaps I'd gone too far...Human or not, he was still a man...a rather good looking man. Whoever it was who tailored his suits knew how to make a man's ass look good. Suit trousers aside...Kid was an old soul, an old fashioned gentleman. There was a formality in the way he addressed people. Something my other lovers had sorely lacked.

...

How we had ended up watching a romantic comedy, I don't know, but it was an entirely different experience in my present company.

Maka let out occasional snorts of contemptuous laughter while offering a hate-filled running commentary. It was oddly refreshing. Liz or Patti would have been cooing like doves at the sappy film, but here was Maka making cutting remarks about every script choice.

"Nobody talks like that...I mean who wrote this rubbish."

I refrained from telling her that I had once whispered similar things into the curves of a lover's ear and that the girl had then proceeded to cheat on me. I refrained from such gestures after that. Women called me cold, detached and distant on a regular basis because of it. I refused to let anything sully my sleeves, least of all my heart.

...

Her commentary seemed to flow in a constant stream, most of it simply washing around me. I'd sometimes offer responses semi-consciously.

"Romance is all lies, sweet nothings so that folks can get into your pants. I'm so sick of it."

"Me too..." I replied absentmindedly.

She turned suddenly. "Wait, you agreed with me?"

"Hmm," Her voice had pulled me from my unfocused state. "I suppose I did."

"Why? Usually you just let me rant on."

"Well, because romance IS stupid and I'm sick of it. Essentially I agreed because I agree with you. It's that simple." How's that for circular logic...?

"But...you've never been so negative about romance before..."

"My lacking sex life stems from the fact that I do not have a girlfriend. Infer why that is..."

"Ummm, because you're busy." She offered.

"Yes and no. I am busy and I sometimes struggle to make time for others, but that isn't the only reason."

"Why then?"

"Because I'm sick of being manipulated, I'm sick of feeling I don't offer enough in a relationship and I'm sick of how imbalanced it always is."

"Oh." She said in a small voice. "I bet you wish you could just skip the romance, huh?"

"Maka, that's called a one night stand..."

"I didn't mean like that. I meant like a _proper,_ _lasting_ relationship but with the romance... just ...subtracted."

"Hmm. I believe that's 'friends with benefits'... and it never works. Intimacy and emotion are intricately connected. People can pretend that sex means nothing by subtracting the emotion from it, but that never lasts. Someone always starts caring more than they intended."

"That's not what I mean either," she huffed. "Emotion stays. Caring stays. But romance can go die in a hole."

"What a charming way of putting it." I chuckled.

"I'm serious, Kid. I don't want to be swept off my feet, but I don't want to sleep with random strangers every night just to feel intimate with someone. Do you know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean, Maka, but it just wouldn't work."

"You're just being pessimistic."

"Well, a little pragmatism goes a long way..."

She glared at me.

"Maka, think about it rationally. How would you set up a relationship like that? Think about the logistics. What do you do, go up to someone and say 'Hey, I'd like to be in an essentially platonic relationship with you. Befriend me and fuck me please'? No. You don't."

"What if I had someone in mind?"

"Like who?" I scoffed.

"You?" She raised a delicate eyebrow in question.


	4. Agreeable Terms

I choked on nothing.

"Excuse me!" I spluttered.

"We could, you know?" Her fingers tangled up in themselves as she wrung her pale hands. They still didn't compare to my own pallor.

"Maka, I- I don't think you know what you're asking me." I rose from the couch.

"I know _exactly_ what I'm asking you." She grabbed hold of my wrist. "I'm asking you to be my friend and- and I'm asking you to be my lover." She spoke quietly before looking away, blushing.

"Maka, I don't know what isolation you must be feeling to make you even consider wanting me."

"And I don't know what isolation you must have been experiencing to delude yourself that any woman in her right mind wouldn't want you." She snapped back.

"Maka..."

"I know I'm plain," Her hands crept up to my lapels before latching on. "and hot-tempered and-"

"Maka, stop." I grasped her wrists. Her pulse hammered away beneath my fingers. What did she really want from me?

She stared at my hands before looking back into my eyes. Her green stare unnerved me as it was sultrier than I've ever seen it. "Am I making you uncomfortable? Am I that unappealing?"

"No." I released her hands in favour of placing my own at her waist. "I meant stop saying stuff like that as if it's bad." I gently pulled her a little closer. "You say plain as if it makes you unattractive. It doesn't. You say hot-tempered as if it makes you a horrible person. It doesn't. You – You're beautiful." Usually words like that felt foreign and false upon my lips, leaving a horrid taste in my mouth. That was not the case in this incidence.

"For someone who hates romance so much, you're sure starting to sound like a sap."

I felt a little wounded at her words. She was as distrustful of words as ever. Just because I, her friend, had spoken them didn't mean she was going to trust them. She was as distrusting as I am.

"If we're going to do this properly you're going to need to cut that out." She tugged me harshly towards her by the suit jacket she had commandeered. Her body pressed against mine slightly. It was not... an unwelcome position...

"You're serious about this?"

"I've just quite _plainly_ expressed the fact that I want to SLEEP with you, without demanding _any_ romantic gestures or limiting it to a onetime thing and you're still delaying?"

"I'm as distrusting of your words as you are of mine." I explained.

She paused for a moment, thoughtful.

"Think about it rationally." She said. "My motives are all on the table. I want your friendship, which I already have, and I want your body. That's all I'm asking for...and that's _exactly_ what I'm offering in return to balance that request."

"Balance, huh, so it's an equivalent exchange then?" The idea certainly appealed. I hated relationships where one person was giving too much and the other was gaining too much. It happened to me all too often. For all my ideals, I wasn't extending my balance to my love life.

"Yes." She said exasperated. "And don't you dare try to tell me you don't see what you have to gain. You haven't had sex in over a year. You aren't the type for one night stands, and the same goes for me. We're both sexually frustrated and you know it."

"I acquiesce to your request. In that it seems a fair arrangement that operates for mutual benefit."

...

Kid looked up from my hands. A wicked and lopsided smirk rivalling Soul's spread across his usually inexpressive mouth. It was not an expression I'd ever expected to see on Kid's face.


	5. Uhhh

"I'm a Reaper remember...Let's see if you can keep up..." His tone remained even but the eerie, quiet way he'd said those words sent a shock of cold through my body. It was as if I'd been doused with ice water. I'd been so certain up until now, but his acceptance had allowed apprehension to creep in. My insistence had dropped, even if it was only for a moment. I needed to reassert myself.

"Bedroom." It wasn't a question. I couldn't let it be phrased that way.

He raised a dark eyebrow. "Wouldn't the couch be less romantic?"

He was right, but I had my reasons. "The bedroom has better light, and because we're just friends I don't have to be self-conscious about my body."

"Maka, you're beautiful. You have nothing to be self-conscious ab-"

"Cut that out." I snapped.

"Apologies."

"Forgiven."

"Do you want to lead the way or should I?" He smirked.

"Get your ass down that hallway Reaper."

He opened his door, and gestured to usher me in first. "Don't you dare say anything about romantic gestures. I was being _polite_. Polite and romantic are two different things." He was quick to defend.

"Polite I can handle..."

"Good."

...

I shut the door behind me. The clicking sound seemed so ominous, so final, like a gun being cocked.

"What are you waiting for? Clothes. Off. Now." Maka said. She'd already tossed her hoodie onto the ground.

"Soul is going to kill me." My jacket fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.

"Only if we don't tell him." Her shirt came over her head and joined her hoodie on my bedroom carpet.

"You plan on telling him?" My suspenders came down. My hands fumbled down my shirt. I'd never hated buttons more in my entire life.

"At some point. Yes. We're partners. He'll see it written all over my face anyway." Her skirt joined the growing congregation of clothing.

"Can we postpone that?" The subtraction of my trousers left me in only my underwear.

"We can put it off a little..." She reached behind her back...and unclasped her bra.

My mouth went dry. She removed her underwear.

"Uhhh..."

"Your eloquence seems to have abandoned you."

"Uh yeah..."

"Boxers. Get rid."

"Uhhh..."

"Is that all you can say?"

I shook myself. "Sorry." My boxers were the last to go.

Maka looked me up and down. I felt my dignity dwindling under her scrutiny.

"I can work with that."

"I'd hope so."

...


	6. Sorry

That first night with Kid was like a forest blaze, bright and fast to burn, but determined to reignite. We revelled in the more physical side of the act. We'd both been alone for so long. There was no holding back. I vaguely remember growling a few times. I also think I bit him...

...

Bedroom Maka was nothing like Classroom Maka, closer instead to Battle Maka. She was ferocious, borderline animalistic. Though I was atop her, it was clear that she was the one acting as puppeteer of my body. Each scratch of her nails against my skin made my limbs move, seemingly of their own accord. My control wavered on a knife's edge. When her teeth sunk into the pale flesh of my shoulder, she summoned from my throat a sound unlike any I've ever known myself to make.

...

He'd reached his climax before I had. My body ached, wanting. I think he'd seen it in my eyes because guilt filled his expression as he looked away.

"Sorry."

His voice was low, throaty, like the groan that had accompanied some Maka-shaped bite marks.

I was too breathless to reply and too breathless to ask why he was removing his rings.

...

I'm a horrible selfish lover, nothing but a tease. I couldn't leave her dissatisfied. I wasn't that inconsiderate, my pride wouldn't allow me to be.

...

Long, pale fingers ghosted up my inner thigh. He eased my legs apart once more. The gears in my brain, addled by desire, finally started turning again. He was going to 'finish the job' as it were. Usually, that task was something I had to do myself. The insipid men in my past never tried anything like this, too caught up in their own high to think about me.

Damn him. Damn him and his stupid fingers.

Damn him and his stupid, deft, ambidextrous hands. That plural is not misplaced.

Old habits die hard, after all.

...

Even after her eyes had rolled backward in her skull, the green irises disappearing leaving only white behind, I couldn't stop myself from swapping hands, repeating myself on the other side. Some long buried part of me had been dredged up, and he was a jerk, a symmetry obsessed jerk. I remained in guilty silence while she caught her breath.

...

"Sorry." His voice was small.

"Will you quit apologising?" I said, both exasperated and breathless.

"Sorry."

"Seriously? Do I have to Maka-chop you?"

"Sorr- Damn it," he cursed. "Looks like you might have to."

On a whim, I swung my thigh over and lifted my body up to straddle his. I pinned both of those damned hands above his head.

"What happened to the Maka-chop? I totally had it coming." He raised an eyebrow.

"I changed my mind." I shrugged teasingly.

"Fickle woman," he said mockingly.

"Fickle man," I replied, equally dryly. "You're all confidence until the clothes come off."

"It seems the suit does make the man. Though, it really doesn't help that you seem determined to emasculate me."

"I am not," I huffed

"Really?" He wriggled his fingers. I felt the tendons move in his restrained wrists.

I looked into his eyes. "It's not my fault all men are weak."

"Against a woman like you? Most men _would_ crumble. Your ex-boyfriends probably turned to quivering puddles. Woman like you are what vexes men most."

"Like you haven't left girls as weeping wrecks." My grip on his wrists tightened. He remained impassive.

"Over what? That I didn't give them my bank account details?"

"You're maddening, you know that?"

He made eye contact. Some of the fire in his gold eyes had returned. The next word out of his mouth was spoken slowly, deliberately. He was placing his challenge very clearly before me.

"Sorry."

"MAKA-CH" I was cut off. Within a single instant he'd flipped our positions, though his grip was surprisingly gentle. He was faster and stronger than me, and he knew it. He was content to just hold me there, knowing full well that I couldn't move away.


	7. Restraint

Kid is really quite a tall man. I am really quite a short woman.

He was able to keep my hands above my head even while he trailed his attentions down my torso...at an achingly slow pace. The frenzied lover from before was gone, replaced by someone entirely different. This man was painstakingly controlled.

"I'd like my hands back, if you please."

He looked up from his position at my hip, a smirk gracing his face.

"Why? You've got legs, don't you?"

I scowled at him. "My legs are trapped too."

"Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we?" He shifted so that my legs were outside of his.

I folded both legs around his body, crossing them at the ankles.

"If I'd known I'd be doing this I would have shaven my legs."

"If I'd known I wouldn't have shaven mine." He laughed.

I laughed back, uncrossing my ankles. I ran my legs up and down, skin against skin. His laughter caught in his throat.

"For someone so straight-laced you're awful easy to undo."

He quickly gathered his composure.

"There are few women who could be my undoing, and while I've no doubt you could easily be my ruin Maka, perhaps that could be saved for another occasion."

He switched my wrists to a single fist. His other hand ran swiftly down a thigh to the back of my knee. He hitched my leg higher onto his hip.

I wasn't about to let him puppeteer me. In rebellion of his positioning, I kicked my leg even higher to eventually rest over his shoulder.

...

I couldn't help but send a questioning look.

"What?" she asked. "I'm plenty flexible."

"I might have to request that we repeat with the opposite positioning later on." I was already feeling twitchy about my neglected shoulder.

"Seriously Kid? Didn't you get over this?"

"Apparently I'm compulsive when I'm horny." I shrugged.

...

He paced differently this time. Every action was so measured and deliberate. If I didn't know better I'd say it was leisurely on his part. What a tease?

But then I noticed. There was no smirk in his expression, no smugness. His grip on my wrists was feather-light. He wasn't being a sadist. The fact he was even restraining me was just a ploy. He was being...gentle with me. Why the hell was he though? I'm not delicate. I don't need that kind of treatment. There aren't many girls who can handle being meisters but I had taken the challenge in stride. Each slow pulse of his hips was like an insult. I'm better than this.

"You're going to need to be more forceful."

He managed to look a little sheepish, but nodded nonetheless. The pace didn't change much...but his next thrust made me see stars.

It hadn't occurred to me that maybe his behaviour wasn't gentleness but restraint. Kid wasn't being gentle because he thought I was fragile. He was holding back, because he knew that he was stronger than he looked. Someone less accustomed to violence would have probably cried out. I just hissed and arched my back.

He drew back and then made another thrust. More stars.

Maybe that leg over his shoulder wasn't such a good idea.

I'm going to be limping tomorrow.

Screw seeing it written all over my face. Anyone would be able to tell it from my walk that I'd slept with the young Reaper.

With each pulse of Kid's body against my own, I found myself caring less and less.

"Faster," I managed to moan out. I wanted to lose myself in this man. I didn't want to think of consequences and tomorrows. I wanted, I wanted...to not over think things for once. Ugh Liz why did you have to be so right?

...

Each strangled almost-cry was like a punch in the gut. She was too proud to actually cry out, but she didn't need to. I knew I was hurting her. But damn it if I wasn't revelling in the fact that she was actually able to cope with my strength. Any second now she'd beg me to stop.

"Faster," she moaned.

Wait, what?! What kind of masochist had her legs coiled around me? I realised then that I still had her wrists above her head. I released them and tried to flinch away. Since when was I so sadistic?

"Please."

It was a small and desperate cry.

"Move faster." She made eye contact.

"Maka?!"

It was only her completely serious look, the unwavering resolve in her eyes that made me comply with her. I upped the pace.

We were both panting soon enough.

"Fuck," she swore, breathless. (I'll admit it was really hot) "Fuck me senseless," she panted.

I fumbled to a halt.

"What?"

Her recently freed hands grasped at my hair, pulling me down, forcing me to look into her eyes. Her breathing was heavy and uneven but she managed to, very clearly, say 'Make me scream Kid'.

"Eh?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No. You didn't"

...

And then he kissed me. The gesture seemed a little too romantic, that is until he started to gently bite my lower lip. His pelvis rolled into mine the same time his insistent tongue entered my mouth. The force and pace had not lessened but this time his hands were everywhere. His attentions might have been divided, spread all across my body, but they were no less skilful. I was going into sensory overload already. Screw seeing stars, my vision was a complete whiteout.

He wasn't holding back anymore. Of that much I was certain.


	8. Death

Reapers aren't like normal people. I'd always known this, held back. But something in the way that Maka had asked me to make her scream, some bizarre equilibrium between begging and ordering, really made me want to bring her to the brink. Perhaps it was the clarity with which she was able to articulate it. Maka was always so strong. I wanted to see her undone, feel her slacken beneath me. I wanted to hear her torn apart at the seams. I wanted her rendered incapable of so many syllables, regardless of the fact that 'make me scream Kid' only has four.

I vaguely realised that it might have been jealousy that was driving me. I was envious of her, of her unwavering resolve. I'm the son of The Grim Reaper. A Shinigami. A god. I should be better. But I'm not. I'm plagued by self-doubt.

She'd never questioned whether she was 'good enough' and she'd never questioned her ability to reach the top, despite being a bit self-conscious. She honed her skills, simply telling herself that she _needed_ to be smarter and more resolute. And she wasn't hesitant to accept the support of others (perhaps to admit that she needed it, but not to actually accept it). She was so much better than me and I wanted to see her from the high ground, even if I had to drag her down to do it.

I wanted to be the one who shattered the unshakable Maka. Some part of my mind supplied the term _Tall Poppy Syndrome_.

I'd call myself a despicable human being thought that wouldn't really be accurate.

I'm a Reaper, not a human, but I am a man and I am weak...particularly to Maka.

...

I surrendered myself to sensation. My body was his, and he claimed it with vigour.

Pressing hands, lips, teeth, tongue.

Hot breath and fast pulse.

The ever-respectable Death The Kid had never seemed more alive.

...

A ragged and hysterical cry tore through her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she shrieked.

"Well when women scream it can be misconstrued."

"Just keep going!" she yelled.

"Okay."

"Ahh-uh!" The pitching of her voice went completely out of whack.

She was at her limit. She also seemed determined to pull out my hair she was tugging so hard.

"Maka." Her name escaped my lips as a desperate, moaning sigh.

"Death!" she screamed, before collapsing beneath me in a sprawling, twitching mess.

I was no better.

...

A sound soul dwells within sound mind and sound body, right? Well, my body was exhausted, my mind in disarray. Surely my soul was no longer sound. It should have worried me, but it was glorious. It was a different kind of corruption from that I recalled of the black blood. There was no weird warping sensation, only blissful euphoria. I was not being sinful or wicked in indulging in this man.

I was being human.

I was being a woman.

...

She lay next to me, panting and smiling. I was her parallel in that breathless happiness, but for my own reasons.

She'd said my _name_, my _first name_. Not _Kid_, a platonic nickname. Not one of her teasing, flirtatious monikers. She'd called out _that_. She'd actually called me _Death_. Most shied from something so morbid, particularly in bed, but she hadn't. She'd cried out that name as if it was a lifeline.

It was the most backwards, contrary, bizarre thing I'd ever heard.


	9. Distracted

In the morning I couldn't find my shirt, but I'd managed to somehow track down my pants, so I ventured into the kitchen naked from the waist up. I'd need to straighten things up before Liz got back, but I figured I could have a cup of coffee first. The caffeine wouldn't do much for me. It was more the action of making it, therapeutic in its own way.

"Hey lover." Maka's delicate arms snaked around my exposed torso.

"Lover huh?" It was a teasing greeting, which surprised me given how fiery things had been last night.

She went on tiptoe to whisper into my ear "Prefer I call you _Death_?" The name came out slow and breathy.

My breath caught. She said my name like it was synonymous for sex, no, like it _was sex_. Intercourse spoken. Lingual coitus. Verbal fucking.

"You think I didn't notice you grinning away? Not often you smile like that...Death"

"Death." I tested the name upon my own tongue. Death was always Lord Death, but I suppose things were different now. It was my own name. Kind of strange, I suppose, that it's so foreign. "I like it. But what shall I call you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Rather intimate to call me Death, I mean, nobody does. So what do I call you?"

"How about...Sexy?"

"Certainly to the point."

"Like it?"

"Oh yeah, you're definitely Sexy."

Her hands drawled across my exposed stomach for a few moments before she spoke.

"The coffee can wait."

"Hmm?"

She then proceeded to push her hand into my trousers.

"Maka!" I latched onto her wrist, halting the action. "We can't do that now! Liz will be back any minute!" I turned to face her.

"That's the best part." Her expression was quirked in question. She'd pulled her hair up into twin tails – a style she hadn't worn in years – but they were crooked. The skewed style would have bothered me once. I'd have been overcome by the compulsion to straighten them back then. But instead, I wanted to take them out entirely and run my fingers through her hair.

"Is that my shirt?" It was (so that's why I couldn't find it...) and it was satisfying to see the crumpled fabric against her strong, lean frame. A pleasing amount of pale leg was on show, though I managed to pull my eyes away from the shirt's hem. "You're devious. You know that?"

"Thought I was Sexy?"

"That too," I amended.

...

I'd managed to corral Kid into the lounge.

"Come on," I urged him. "Take a few risks. Live a little. It's the living room, after all."

He scowled at my terrible joke. "Liz won't let me hear the end of it if she walks in on us. I don't mind telling her, but if she finds out like _that_ she's going to make life hell."

Kid and his logic. He was right, of course, ever the voice of reason, but I didn't care. Kid might have his reason, but I was neglecting mine. I'd slept with him last night, practically on a whim, not that I regretted it (best dumb decision I'd ever made). Logic was invalid. Heck, it was Liz who suggested I get my 'brains fucked out'. Though I don't think she thought her meister would be the one to do it.

"Well, then I'll just have to be fast." I shoved him, hard, and he toppled onto the couch, though it was probably more out of surprise than anything that he actually fell. He made a few more feeble attempts to advise against having sex somewhere so open. As I settled myself atop him he fell silent. "Plus, gives me a chance to stretch out my other hamstring."

...

Watching Maka take off that shirt was probably the most arousing thing I've ever seen, though watching her nimble fingers assault my belt buckle was oddly satisfying. While she was distracted with that, I'd reached up and undone her hair. I'd swear she just about purred when I put my fingers through it.

...

You know that point when you _realise_ you're becoming addicted to something, when it's the _first_ thought you have when you wake up, when all you care about is getting _more_ of whatever it was that made you so happy, when you feel _so damn relieved_ when you know you're about to satisfy that need. I'd reached that point startlingly quickly. Sex with Kid was habit forming.

I wanted him, badly. I'd been horny before, but this was different. This was lust. Addiction.

I didn't care that I'd woken sore and aching. I still wanted him. The previously established ache would be dulled by endorphins anyway, pain relief of the most natural variety. Admittedly, I'd probably be in far worse shape later, though I could deal with that when I came to it.

People always told me I lacked the concept of self-preservation...

So yes, I still wanted him...

But more than that, I wanted to see _that_ look on his face again, that genuine, unreserved smile.

A bit of pleasured groaning wouldn't go amiss either...

...

Yes, we were rather rushed, but there was something experimental about her behaviour. There was variety in her actions. She was testing her methods, finding what elicited marked reactions, though because she was being so hasty, the whole experience felt akin to button-bashing. There was no discernible pattern, and the changes were too rapid, unpredictable. I didn't have a chance in hell of maintaining composure. My movements became little more than spastic convulsions, involuntary products of unfamiliar reflexes. At this rate she'd doubtless know my body better than I did.

I'd never known of that spot beneath my shoulder blade that made me throw my head back.

I'd never known of that point on the lower part of my spine that caused my back to arch.

I'd never known of that place that, when groped, made my hips buck upwards.

I probably produced all manner of embarrassing, unbecoming sounds. The last of which _I know_ was particularly unflattering. I was So Damn Close and she'd _paused_, right on the precipice of climax. Much to my chagrin, I'd let out a desperate whimper. Little did I know, she was preparing for a powerful thrust, one that had sent me spiralling into a gratified abyss, mortification forgotten.

I was half-tempted to suggest we go another round later (maybe redeem myself) and perhaps I would have if not for the roaring sound which signified the arrival of a vehicle, specifically, an expensive sports car driven slightly too fast.

"Damn it. That's Liz's car!"

...

I was a whirlwind to Kid's room in frantic search of clothes. The pile of discarded garments rested on the floor as I'd left them. Everything was a tangled up or inside-out. Getting dressed had never been this complicated...

...

Straightening of the couch had been accompanied by the distinct slam of a car door and the click-clack of heels across the courtyard. My shirt was crumpled beyond belief and my hair was dishevelled. I hoped Liz would view my uncharacteristically scruffy look as laziness on my part.

Keys jingled.

Mechanisms clicked.

At the last minute, I noticed Maka's hair ties on the floor and hurriedly shoved them into my pocket.

For once I felt grateful for the unfounded paranoia that had possessed me to lock the door.

"Kid?" Liz's voice echoed in question.

"In the living room," I called out.

I fought to keep my face impassive when Liz walked into the lounge.

"I'm back." She announced, squinting a little at my appearance.

"Have a good night?" It was a lame attempt to make conversation. Thankfully, Liz didn't know that.

"Yeah, it was good. How was your evening?"

It was a perfectly innocent question, but that didn't stop it from freezing the blood in my veins. How on earth do I even _answer_ that? If I said it was dull she'd know I was lying but the only honest answer my sex-addled brain supplied was 'fucking hot'.

"Oh. Good morning Liz," Maka greeted brightly.

I'd never been so grateful to hear her voice.

"Morning Maka." Liz replied. She then turned to me. "You started to make coffee?"

"Yeah, I got distracted." Hopefully she wouldn't notice my wry smile.

Distracted indeed...


	10. Graceful Exit - Clumsy Confession

Liz POV...

When I'd returned home to find that Maka had spent the night, well, I was a little surprised. Kid often spent time at Maka's apartment, but Maka had never really been a presence at the manor.

Soul had probably kicked her out. He can be so inconsiderate.

Well, whatever the reason for her visit, I'm glad she's here. Kid looks an absolute wreck and it's good to know somebody was watching out for him. Obsessive behaviour or not, the guy was still prone to the odd depressive episode.

Kid and his tantrums, he can be real destructive.

...

Maka POV...

I'd actually managed to make it out of the Manor with my dignity intact. Liz had offered me a pleasant goodbye and had even discreetly thanked me for watching out for kid during his '_Tantrum'_. (Whatever that meant...) My graceful exit (despite the disguised limp – which I prayed that Liz hadn't noticed) had put me in good spirits.

Soul POV...

Maka's arrival back at the apartment was a nonchalant affair...and that pissed me off. Yes, I'd kicked her out in something of a hurry, but I'd expected her to text when she found someone to crash with.

She didn't.

She left me in the dark. And here she was, returning after spending the night _who knows where_, humming to herself, completely oblivious. She'd disappeared off the face of the earth, worrying me (when I should have been focusing on something else entirely), and she had no...freaking...idea.

"Where the _hell_ have you been?!" I growled.

The humming stopped abruptly. When Maka turned her face was far too pale.

"S-Soul I...ah." She swallowed thickly, audibly. Her eyes kept flicking to the nearest door.

"Where were you?" I asked again, with marginally increased civility.

She squared her shoulders, meeting my eyes at last.

...

It would be better if I just came out with it. Just say it. I'd _SO_ intended to, but seeing Soul scowling like that...my confidence had all but evaporated.

I took a nice, deep breath.

"I was at Kid's."

"Well, why didn't you call in and let me know that you'd found a place to crash?" He sighed. His face softened. "I was worried."

Crippling...guilt...

He was doing that '_I'm_ _not mad I'm just disappointed_' thing...and it tore mercilessly at my conscience.

In truth, by the time I thought to text him I had my legs coiled around a certain Reaper.

"Because I was otherwise engaged..."

My vague response had obviously riled him because he growled out his next question.

"Doing what?!"

Two things entered my panicked mind.

Shit.

Don't you mean _'who'_?

And

Shit.

Yeah, I can't count... My mind had stuttered to a halt.

Soul started to tap his foot.

"What..." he said, very slowly. "Were you..._Doing_?"

"K-K-Kid..." I spluttered.

I abandoned that attempt at speech, pausing to take a breath instead. Just, be honest, I told myself. The truth will set you free...and all that. Just let it out. Breathe.

In.

And out.

"Kid and I were having sex!"

Eugh... That hadn't come out right at all. I'd practically screamed it at him. I dreaded what he would say next.

"We both know that's a lie." He said seriously.

"Say Whaaat?" Dumbfounded...completely dumbfounded.

"Come on, you two prudes?! You seriously think I'd buy that?"

And then he did the worst possible thing. He laughed.

...


	11. Ridiculous

Liz rounded on me the second the door closed.

"Kid! How could you?!" she hissed.

Damn it. I knew she'd figure it out.

She always was the sharper sister.

"Liz, I'm sorry." Better to start with an apology, even if it was a complete lie. I had no regrets.

"Damn right you're sorry. She needed someone to crash with, thanks to Soul's inconsiderate behaviour, and what do you provide? An emotionally unstable Reaper to babysit. You're lucky she's such an understanding person. You're lucky she stuck around to keep an eye on your sorry ass while you threw a goddamn tantrum like a child. Now what the hell was bothering you this time?!" It came out at speed and all in one extended breath.

"Now wait a minute. That's not what happened." I raised my hands, trying to calm her. I needed to explain myself.

"Then how come you look so exhausted and like your hair has not seen a hairbrush in a month, huh? I know you have a tendency to ruffle your hair when you get stressed out."

"Well, because..."

The door flung open revealing a cheery Patti.

"Hey Sis! What's up?"

"Just waiting on Reaper Boy here to explain himself."

The two sisters looked expectantly at me for a moment.

"What's he explaining himself for Sis?" Patti whispered.

"He's explaining why he looks like a wreck and why he subjected poor, sweet Maka to one of his tantrums."

"Poor Maka."

"Yeah. Poor Maka."

I cleared my throat.

"Yeah. You were explaining yourself...go on."

"My appearance is not due to some juvenile tantrum and I assure you that Maka was not subjected to anything she didn't invite while she was here."

"Then why _do_ you look all scruffy Kid?" Patti tilted her head to the side in question.

"Because, because Maka and I, well we, we...slept together."

"So you fell asleep on the couch...Big whoop."

"Woulda looked real cute ay Sis? I'm sorry I missed it."

"Yeah it woulda looked cute..."

"My god..." I said exasperatedly, running a hand down my face. "We were having sex!"

There was silence, just for a couple of seconds. My previous shout reverberated in the air.

"You'll say anything to get out of trouble, won't you?" Liz tutted before striding out of the room.

"You're silly Kid, telling such a silly lie." Patti laughed, skipping merrily after her sister.

What just happened?

I stared after them for a few seconds before collapsing against the nearest wall. I slid down to the floor and drew my knees close.

They don't believe me.

The two people I trust most in the world...and they don't believe me...

I wouldn't believe me...

I mean, this whole situation is ridiculous.


	12. Nothing to Prove

After I'd picked myself up off the floor, I found that I couldn't stand to be in the house anymore. I grabbed some semblance of a breakfast and, for lack of anywhere better to mope around, headed to the local basketball courts.

I sat on the courtside bench, thinking about how things had gotten skewed.

...

In the end I'd given up trying to convince Soul. He was laughing too hard to hear anything I had to say. He was even laughing too hard to notice me limp out the door.

...

I could feel something in my pocket.

The ties from Maka's hair.

Somehow, just holding them, everything came rushing back. Those memories felt real once more.

It wasn't a silly lie or a bid to get out of trouble.

It had happened. I'd slept with Maka '_legs up to her chin'_ Albarn.

I wondered whether she'd left anything else behind, hopefully something incriminating like underwear. Liz and Patti would have to believe me then.

No. She was wearing a skirt and wouldn't have been able to get away with it.

Damn.

I'd told my partners the truth...but, how was I supposed to prove it?

...

I walked the streets, aimless. I only paused when I noticed a figure in black sitting on the bench at the basketball courts. It could only be Kid; nobody else wore so much black. I might as well join him.

I called out and waved.

...

Maka?

It _was_ Maka. She limped towards me.

"Hey." She collapsed next to me on the bench.

"You're limping..." That was my fault and I knew it.

"Yeah... I had some hot, wild sex with a death god." She smirked. "It was fantastic."

"Was it now?" I laughed.

"Oh yeah." She nodded. "A pity Soul didn't believe me."

"So you told him?"

"Yeah. He laughed." She shook her head.

"He laughed?"

"Non-stop."

"That's rough. Liz thought I was trying to get out of trouble."

"You were in trouble?"

"Yeah, over something I didn't do."

"And Patti?"

"She called me silly."

"The truth hurts the most..."

"Are you calling me silly?"

"No. Of course not...I'm implying it. Much more sophisticated." She raised her nose comically in the air.

"More devious, more like."

"Why do you always say that?"

"What?"

"That I'm devious."

"Because it's true..."

She pouted.

I sighed. "What are we gonna do about our friends?"

"I don't know," she answered quietly.

"They really ought to know."

"I know, but we _told_ them. It was _them_ who didn't believe _us_."

"How on earth do we prove something like that?"

She was silent for a moment. "Why do we need to prove it?"

"Huh?"

"Our conscience is clear. We haven't hidden anything from them!"

"You're right...If they don't believe us then that is their problem, not ours. They can figure it out on their own and then they can damn well deal with it!"

"They'll get it eventually. If I keep limping, they're bound to ask why."

"You wear that limp like a champ then."

"I think it may be wearing off...?" She looked at me suggestively.

She was lying. That limp was still very much apparent.

But I could catch a hint.

"Well, we can't have that...but, where do you plan on going? I don't care if our friends know, but we can't exactly go at it while they're around."

"Blair did give me a key to her new place..."


	13. Feline

"What did she do that for?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was for times like these...?"

"Really?"

"Yup. She said 'Maka can use my new apartment's spare room whenever she needs, for _whatever _she needs'..._and_ she won't be back from work yet."

"Did she seriously say that?"

"Yup, with a saucy wink and everything."

"I've never been so grateful to a cat before...though I don't think she actually expects you to take her up on that."

"I'm full of surprises..."

"Lead the way."

...

Blair's apartment was undeniably hers. Between the predominantly purple colour scheme and the overtly sensual mood of the place, it was impossible to mistake it for belonging to someone else.

My mind jolted.

I'd forgotten something extremely important.

"Umm. Maka...?"

"Yeah." She looked up at me.

"I don't have _anything_ on me..." I hoped she would understand what I was euphemistically trying to say.

She blinked at me before shaking it off.

"Relax. Blair is _well stocked_, trust me."

...

Feline hearing is quite sensitive, but I didn't need cat ears to know what was going on in the spare room.

There was giggling. I'd never heard Maka giggle like that, but it was definitely her.

"That tickles!" she shrieked.

"Never pegged you as ticklish," said another voice. It had a mellifluous quality. I couldn't quite place it... It was too...deep and rich to be one of Maka's usual types.

"I am surprisingly sensitive...I'll always cry out if you find the right spot."

"Is that a challenge?" It was all but a purr...and I knew purring.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase. I'll always cry out _when_ you find the right spot."

"I'll hold you to that..."

"I bet you will..."

"Is it...here?"

"No."

"How about..._here_?"

"No." A slight strain appeared in her tone.

"Am I getting _warmer_?"

"Yes!" Her pitch had suddenly rammed up into a higher register.

And then she moaned.

Maka, you naughty girl...

...

I padded down the hall, only to seize up when I reached the living room.

Blair was sitting, quite calmly, on one of her purple sofas, cup of tea in hand.

"How long have you been there...?" Obviously long enough to make a cup of tea (_and DRINK half of it!_). It was sobering thought, especially considering the nature of what had just transpired.

She pulled her eyes from the teacup's rim, choosing instead to give me a shrewd, if not amused, look.

Shit.

"Long enough..." She shrugged. "I'd ask _what_ you were doing in my apartment, but I think that's painfully obvious. A better question might be _why_ you are in my apartment."

"Lack of options..."

"I see...Sit," she told me sternly.

Silently, I did as she said. I had a feeling she was tempted to use the 'stay' command as well.

"Nice underwear..." she casually remarked.

I spluttered at that.

She laughed all the way up the hall.

...

"Hey, what took you so long?" I asked shrugging on the shirt Kid had been wearing.

"Didn't realise I was expected..." came a laughing voice.

"Oh. Blair. Hey..." I trailed off.

"Come on, down the hall with you."

She started to shove me toward the door.

"What? Why!" I asked, indignant.

"Interrogation," she answered brightly.

"Couldn't that wait until I have clothes on?"

"Nope, now move it. I'm getting info out of you whether you like it or not, missy. I don't like to be left out of the loop and you know it."

"But _clothes_..." I whined.

"But nothing."

I frowned.

"Oh suck it up. Reaper boy is sitting down there in his boxers."

Oh dear...


	14. Potential Embellishment

Blair simply stared for a good five minutes, leaving Maka and I to squirm under the amber gaze.

"When did _this_ happen?! How _long_ has this been going on?! And _why_ didn't I know about it?!" she pouted.

You have to admire her interrogation skills...

Maka wasn't perturbed. She barely blinked before answering.

"Uhh, last night, less than twelve hours and... well, we were getting to it. We had to wait for you to get home from work."

"Am I the first to know? You have to tell Soul and soon."

"Are you kidding? I tried. He didn't believe me." Maka gave a bitter laugh.

"Liz and Patti didn't believe me either." I shrugged.

"Wait, you told them? Outright? I thought I had you two figured, but you're putting me through the ringer here."

"Of course we told them. If they'd found out any other way they'd have skinned us alive." Maka sighed. "Why does this seem so damn impossible to them? Gah."

"Well..." Blair mused. "I have to admit that, had I not heard the evidence, I wouldn't believe you either. You're going to have to try telling them again. That is...unless you convince them the same way you did just now..."

"Blair!" Maka squeaked.

"Just a suggestion..."

Maka frowned.

"In that case, you're going to have to tell them again."

"Uh uh. No way." Maka shook her head vehemently. "I'm not having Soul laugh at me anymore."

"And I won't have Liz and Patti send me those _looks_ like I'm the boy who cried wolf."

"_Though there was a fair bit of howling_..." Maka muttered under her breath.

Blair ignored the suggestive interjection.

"Well, what if Kid tried to convince Soul?"

"That _could_ work..."

"What?! That protective bastard would _slaughter_ me." I paled at the thought.

"I'll try to convince Liz and Patti..." Maka offered.

"What and be shot? No. That is a terrible idea."

"If you've got a better idea, then please, do share. Enlighten us."

"Uhh..."

"That's what I thought," Maka said smugly.

"You got any better ideas then?!" I snapped back.

"Oh for goodness sake, just man up and tell them. If you don't, then I will..." Blair left her ultimatum hanging in the air. "With details..._Inaccurate_ ones..."

A panicked look passed between us.

Who knows how Blair would _embellish_ this story?

Knowing our luck, our friends would believe the fabrication instead of the truth. We'd have to tell them.

_I'd_ have to tell Soul...that I _slept_ with his _meister_...

In that moment, I was quite certain that I was going to be covered in scythe slashes by the end of the day.

And, I hoped Maka wouldn't be riddled with bullet holes.


	15. Sashimi

"You know Maka, Kid said the funniest thing. He said you slept together, as if I'd believe that."

Two pairs of blue eyes looked at me expectantly. They were waiting for my blushing, spluttering denial. It never came. I couldn't deny that claim...because it was true. We _had _slept together.

In fact, we'd had sex four times in the space of around twelve hours. (I'd never known a man to go so many rounds...)

I shrugged.

"Wait...you're...you're not trying to tell us that you actually...?" Liz trailed off.

"We did." I nodded.

Patti looked at me quizzically.

"What are you playing at?" Liz hissed.

"He did try to tell you...I'm just confirming it for you. I thought you ought to know I'm sleeping with your meister."

"Now I _know_ something's up. People don't just _come out_ with stuff like that, especially the likes of you two. Kid's a pokerfaced prick most of the time and you blush if someone so much as mentions sex."

"Interesting you think that, because _I_ propositioned _him_."

"Yeah, Maka the _seductress_, are you trying to make me laugh?" she snapped.

"No... I'm not. I've already had Soul laugh at me."

"That's 'cause he's smart," Liz replied. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but _we're_ not buying it."

She'd spoken for her sister. Patti had yet to say anything, actually. Her head had remained tilted enquiringly to the side.

...

"Excuse me?!"

"I thought I made myself clear enough. Maka and I engaged in sexual relations. I believe she informed you of that."

"Cut the crap Kid. Maka already tried to pull that gag with me."

Cut the crap huh?

"Maka wasn't joking..." I looked into his eyes.

Soul raised a pale brow.

"Are you trying to suggest that Maka – man-hating, self-conscious, innocent Maka – _seduced_ you?" He just about growled.

"She did no such thing." _At least not at first..._ "We came to an agreement as two consenting adults."

"You _propositioned_ her?"

"Actually, it was her suggestion. She was very persuasive."

...

"_Persuasive_?"

_Did Kid seriously think I was buying this?_

"Her thoughts on the matter were sound," he replied calmly.

"And what, _pray tell_, were her _thoughts_ on the matter?"

"I don't think I am liberty to share them, but she'd most likely tell you if you asked."

...

"You're full of crap Kid. Nothing went on between you two and I don't know why you're trying to convince me otherwise."

I was beginning to get impatient with his ignorance. All sense of decorum went out the window.

"How can you be so blind to what's right in front of your face?!" I snapped.

Soul blinked in shock, but that didn't stop my next outburst.

"I am fucking your meister! Get that through your thick skull!"

"You're lucky I don't believe that. Because otherwise, you'd be sashimi now pal." He pulled his blade from my throat, storming off.

I wasn't even aware as to when he'd drawn it.

...and sashimi?

What kind of a threat was that?


	16. I Did Ask

"So how'd it go?" Blair asked brightly.

"Appallingly." Kid lamented.

"No luck for me either." I added.

"They still don't believe you...?"

"They'd sooner believe the sky was falling." Kid drawled.

"That's it. Blair is going to tell them." She announced.

Kid and I shared a horrified look.

...

We walked up the steps to my apartment.

"Do you think they'll believe her?" I wondered.

"I don't know Maka...I don't know," Kid replied.

"In the end...does it even matter?"

"No."

"Looks like Soul isn't home..."

"How convenient..." Kid quirked an eyebrow.

...

Tsubaki's POV...

I patted my pockets and rummaged through my bag. It wasn't there. I'd forgotten my phone. How stupid of me. Begrudgingly, I turned around and headed back to Soul's.

When I approached the door, I found it to be slightly ajar.

"Soul, I forgot my phone."

I pushed the door open. Papers lay scattered, water from a toppled vase dripped down the front of the cabinet and one of the photo frames hung crookedly on the wall.

Had they been robbed? What sort of an idiot would rob a deathscythe anyway?

"Soul?" I stepped inside. I received no answer.

Once I'd passed the threshold, I let out a scream.

It was Kid and Maka...but...

One of Kid's hands had sneaked up Maka's shirt the other was in between her legs. His mouth was at the pale flesh of Maka's neck. Flushed and panting, she turned her glazed eyes to me.

"Tsubaki?"she slurred.

"Hmm?" Kid raised his head from Maka's collar, saliva trailing from his lips.

"W-What is going on here? E-Explain this to me. N-Now!"

...

There was murder in her eyes. If there was anyone who'd make sashimi out of me it would be her, no matter what Soul says.

"W-w-w-w-Well, I was just..."

"I know what you were doing! I'm not blind!"

"Tsubaki..." Maka tried to calm her.

"Maka, how? How did this happen? Or, better yet, why? Why is this happening? Why would you let him...?"

"Tsubaki, why don't you sit down?"

"How can I sit down when HE is tainting you?" She jabbed a finger in my direction.

"Tainting?"

"How exactly is he _tainting _me?!"

"He's taking advantage of you."

"He's doing no such thing!" Maka gave her a hard stare.

"Wait. You're serious. You're sleeping with HIM? You're sleeping with him. You are sleeping...with him..." She fell heavily to the ground.

"She's fainted."

"I did ask her to sit down."


	17. Like A Boss

Maka POV...

Tsubaki's lashes fluttered, revealing indigo irises, as she roused.

"I had the weirdest dream," she muttered. "I'd caught Kid and Maka together. How ridiculous..."

"Quite," Kid droned sarcastically.

"Tsubaki, it wasn't a dream. You went into shock and you fainted."

Her eyes flicked between us, uncertain.

"Oh."

"Are you feeling better now?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "but...when did this happen?"

"Night before last."

"No, I meant, when did you two get so close? I never thought you were...like this...whatever this is..."

"Well, we started spending more time together when Blackstar and Patti got together."

"So are you...dating now?"

"We're not dating per say..." Kid said.

"You're not? So what is this CASUAL?!"

"We're lovers," he amended, "and it's _not_ casual." Kid's golden stare didn't waver. He was daring her to doubt him, question him.

Tsubaki's anger crumbled. It was replaced by a hint of fear.

"Do the others know?"

"We tried to tell our partners but they...well, they didn't actually believe us." I laughed, but it had a bitter edge.

"Blair knows," Kid added.

"You told Blair?!"

"She kind of...caught us at it, heard us, that is." I blushed slightly.

"So wait, I'm the second person to catch you guys." She gasped. "You're not even trying to hide it?!"

"Well, no. Why would we?"

"Because you're sleeping together but you're not _together_. It's kind of scandalous."

"We're two single, consenting adults. Not as if it's a secret either. There's nothing scandalous about it," Kid said matter-of-factly.

"You work together. In fact, in many respects, Maka works for you. You're her boss."

"I hadn't really looked at it that way."

...

I really hadn't factored that in. Sweet Maka...seduced her boss...Kinky.

...

* * *

In honour of the fact that my "study break" has started, I thought I'd release this mini chapter...like a boss... ;D


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